Assistant Professor of Public Policy (Market-Based Solutions to Societal Challenges)
Job Summary:
The La Follette School of Public Affairs (LFS) seeks to hire a scholar whose research examines how market-based institutions, competitive structures, and incentive-compatible policy design can address major societal challenges. The successful candidate will conduct theoretically grounded and empirically rigorous research on the role of markets in domains traditionally shaped by public policy, regulation, or collective action problems.
We are particularly interested in scholars who analyze how prices, property rights, competition, decentralized information, and institutional design affect outcomes in areas such as:
- Education/school finance and school choice
- Financial regulation and capital markets
- Housing supply and land-use reform
- Technology policy and innovation markets
- Transportation and infrastructure finance
- International trade and tariffs
- State and local economic development
- Climate and environmental policy (e.g., carbon pricing, cap-and-trade systems)
- Energy markets and grid reform
- Agricultural policy and food systems
The candidate may be an economist, political scientist, public policy scholar, legal scholar, or affiliated social scientist whose work engages deeply with the economic logic of markets and institutional design. We welcome scholars using diverse methodological approaches, including structural modeling, reduced-form econometrics, field experiments, institutional analysis, and political economy frameworks.
The successful candidate will contribute to teaching in public policy analysis, microeconomics for policy, regulatory policy, and sector-specific policy courses. They will strengthen LFS’s capacity to train students to evaluate when markets succeed, when they fail, how policy can improve their functioning, and how government failure represents an omnipresent risk.
Situated at the heart of UW-Madison, the College of Letters & Science (L&S) serves as home to 39 academic departments and numerous research centers, including the La Follette School of Public Affairs.
The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment. University sponsorship is not available for this position.
Madison is the state's capital city and is well known for offering a small town feel in a medium-sized city. It is a great place to raise a family and offers an ideal combination of natural beauty, stimulating cultural events, outstanding schools and outdoor recreation.
The successful candidate will advance the educational mission of the College of Letters & Science that values, prioritizes, and actualizes evidence-based and student-centered teaching and student mentoring. They will contribute to an environment that fosters engagement and a sense of belonging for faculty, staff, students and members of the broader community.
The successful candidate, as a member of the College of L&S, will proactively contribute to, support, and advance the college’s commitment to excellence among all aspects of their teaching, mentoring, research, and service.
In the College of Letters & Science, we provide a liberal arts education that is both broad and deep through excellent, empathic teaching. We hire faculty who are interested in pursuing difficult questions, making new discoveries, and making an impact in their field. We reward excellent teaching and classroom innovation, and we are committed to shared governance. Learn more about the L&S mission on our webpage: https://ls.wisc.edu/about/mission.
Key Job Responsibilities:
The La Follette School of Public Affairs (LFS) seeks to hire a scholar whose research examines how market-based institutions, competitive structures, and incentive-compatible policy design can address major societal challenges. The successful candidate will conduct theoretically grounded and empirically rigorous research on the role of markets in domains traditionally shaped by public policy, regulation, or collective action problems.
Required Qualifications:
Applicants should demonstrate excellence and productivity in research and a commitment to teaching. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience fostering or the ability to foster teaching, learning, mentoring, departmental, and a research environment where all can thrive. Candidates should also demonstrate potential for interdisciplinary collaboration across departments and with various research centers.
Education:
Must have a Ph.D. in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, Law, Economics, Sociology, or a related field by the start of appointment.
How to Apply:
Apply online at "Jobs at UW" (http://jobs.wisc.edu). Applications must be received through UW- Madison's online application system. Applications submitted outside of this system will not be considered. Click the "Apply Now" button to start the application process. Applicants should submit the following 4 items:
1) a letter of application,
2) curriculum vitae,
3) a teaching and mentoring statement,
4) a job market paper
All applicants will receive an email after their application is submitted asking to provide the name and contact information for three references and each reference will receive an electronic link through which they can upload a signed letter of reference.
For full consideration, all materials must be received no later than 11:59pm on October 18, 2026. Applications will be accepted until position is filled. Please note that applicants will be evaluated based upon submitted application materials and therefore should speak to and include evidence of their qualifications. Application materials must clearly demonstrate the applicant’s dedication to excellence in student-centered teaching and mentoring.
Additionally, materials should showcase the applicant’s ability to purposefully plan their teaching practices, evidenced through goals, action plans, reflection, and related documentation. This portion of the application materials must be created by the applicant and may include supporting letters. It cannot be only in the form of letters and testimony by others.
